Relatives of five American victims of Palestinian attacks announced a lawsuit against Facebook on Monday. The families seek $1 billion in damages, claiming that Facebook was complicit in the attacks by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The plaintiffs include the family of 16-year-old Yaakov Naftali Fraenkel, who has abducted and murdered after hitching a ride in the West Bank, and the family of three-year-old Chaya Braun, whose stroller was intentionally struck by a Palestinian motorist in Jerusalem.
The lawsuit that Facebook “knowingly [facilitated Hamas’] ability to communicate, recruit members, plan and carry out attacks, and strike fear into enemies.”
Shurat Hadin, an Israeli legal group, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The group claims Facebook violates U.S. anti-terrorism laws by allegedly assisting Hamas in "recruiting, radicalizing, and instructing terrorists, raising funds, creating fear and carrying out attacks."
The lawyer representing the families, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, said, "Facebook can't sit in its stone tower in Palo Alto while blood is being spilled here on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It has a social responsibility. It can't serve as a social network for Hamas."
A Hamas spokesperson responded to the lawsuit saying it was an Israeli attempt to manipulate Facebook, stating, “The real test for the owner’s is to reject this pressure.” He claimed that Israeli officials and soldiers have themselves expressed inappropriate pride in killing Palestinians on Facebook.
This controversy is not new to Facebook. The lawsuit follows Israeli censure of Facebook over what the Israeli Security Minister Gilad Erdan deemed as reluctance to help track potential terrorist threats. According to Erdan, because of Facebook’s silence, there is “blood on Zuckerberg’s hands.” He claimed Facebook failed to report terrorist threats and statements made on its platform.
Facebook has indirectly responded to the suit with a general statement, saying, “We encourage people to use our reporting devices if they find content they believe to break the rules, so we can examine each case and take rapid action. Facebook has regular dialogue with the government on these issues.”